Understanding the Amendments to the Fayetteville Ordinance

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A Further Analysis of Chapter 119

Overview: On August 20, 2014, the Fayetteville City Council passed asexual-orientation and gender-identity nondiscrimination ordinance (Chapter 119). Proponents of the ordinance added two amendments to the proposal in an effort to alleviate some concerns over the measure’s unintended consequences. The amendments, however, fail to address many of the flaws in the proposal.

Church Property Amendment

Amendment 1: “Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to require any religious or denominational institution or association to open its tax exempt property or place of worship to any individual or group for any ceremony or meeting, except for any activity or service that is supported in whole or part by public funds.”

Analysis: This amendment partly addresses one of the many ways Proposed Chapter 119 restricts religious liberty in Fayetteville. It generally prevents church property from being used, for example, for a same-sex wedding or reception. However, it fails to address the following:

  • Churches still face the threat of prosecution. This amendment does not exempt churches altogether. At best, it exempts church property. Churches can still be forced to employ a gay or transgender person for “secular” job positions (e.g. bookkeeper, receptionist, etc.). Even with this amendment,a church still faces the threat of criminal prosecution simply for wanting to employ people who share and abide by the faith that church proclaims.
     
  • Ministers still face the threat of prosecution, individually. This ordinance affects ministers who officiate weddings or ceremonies for non-church-members, because they are offering a public service. This amendment protects church property, but not the ministers employed by the church. This means ministers could still be forced to perform same-sex ceremonies on non-church property (e.g. a park, private wedding chapel, etc.). This opens ministers to the possibility of prosecution simply for declining to perform a ceremony contradictory their religious convictions.
     
  • Businesspeople are still open to prosecution. Across the nation, florists, bakers, photographers, wedding venue owners, and similar businesspeople have faced litigation and prosecution for declining to take part in same-sex ceremonies. This amendment does not protect religious businesspeople who object to hosting or serving in a same-sex ceremony.
     
  • Private schools are not exempted. This amendment does not protect a private school’s ability to employ people who share its religious views or safeguard any of its other religious liberties. 

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No Exemption for Churches From Proposed Fayetteville Ordinance

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We have written about Fayetteville’s proposed nondiscrimination ordinance and its unintended consequences–particularly where churches are concerned.

In particular, churches could face criminal prosecution if they:

  • Refuse to hire a gay or transgender person to fill a “secular” staff position;
  • Decline to let a same-sex couple use their property for a same-sex ceremony or reception.

A few of you have asked about the amendment adopted at last week’s meeting supposedly exempting churches from the ordinance. Here is how the amendment reads:

“Nothing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to require any religious or denominational institution or association to open its sanctuary or chapel to any individual or group for any ceremony including, but not limited to, weddings, funerals, confirmations, or baptisms.”

Here is the problem: The amendment only exempts the church sanctuary or chapel, and only for “ceremonies.”

A church could still be forced to open its sanctuary for non-ceremonial meetings–if the church lets other groups use its sanctuary for meetings.

The church could still be forced to open other parts of its property–such as the fellowship hall, classrooms, outdoor lawns or gardens, additional auditoriums, and so on–for ceremonies or receptions.

To put it another way, the ordinance does not exempt churches; it exempts one room from a church’s entire property: The sanctuary. That’s it. Every other piece of church property is fair game.

If the Fayetteville City Council intended to exempt churches, they could have done so. As it is, they only exempted the church sanctuary or chapel. That sends a very clear message: The ordinance is fully intended to affect churches.

Read the full language of the ordinance here.

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Anti-Hobby Lobby Bill Introduced in U.S. Senate

Current Events, Religious Freedom, ,

The following is a news alert from the American Family Association:

Following last week’s Hobby Lobby ruling by the Supreme Court that Hobby Lobby does not have to pay for employee’s abortion drugs and coverage under ObamaCare, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and his liberal comrades wasted no time introducing an “Anti-Hobby Lobby” bill. Read Harry Reid’s racist comment about the Supreme Court.

Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Mark Udall (D-CO) quickly introduced legislation this week to completely ignore the rule of law under the Constitution and employ Obama-style politics.

Reid has promised to bypass all committees to put this on the “fast track.” This means a vote could take place as early as next week.

Under Murray’s Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act, the attack against Hobby Lobby goes much deeper than even ObamaCare does. It specifically strikes at the heart of religious liberty by nullifying the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and completely terminating exemptions for all business, even those run by Christians with deeply held convictions about abortion.

This bill dictates that employers cannot interfere in their employee’s decisions about contraception and other health services through discrimination by (from Sen. Murray’s website):

  • Banning employers from refusing to cover any health coverage – including contraceptive coverage – guaranteed to their employees and dependents under federal law.
  • Stating that all federal laws do not permit employers to refuse to comply with the ACA requirement, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
  • Including the exemption from the contraceptive coverage requirement for houses of worship and the accommodation for religious non-profits.

This is a very demented and hate-filled attack on Hobby Lobby and people of faith everywhere. The Democratic leadership in the Senate is firmly resolute in promoting their evil agenda on two fronts. One is the killing of unborn children. The second is forcing Christians to pay for murder.

TAKE ACTION

Urge your senators to reject Harry Reid and Patty Murray’s vindictive attempts to force Christians and Christian business owners to violate their faith.

Please urge your senators to reject the “Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act.”

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